


‘Til The Clocks Go Forward Again

by shesbreathless



Series: schmico codas [4]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Christmas, M/M, New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, throughout 15x12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:34:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shesbreathless/pseuds/shesbreathless
Summary: “I want to kiss you at midnight and dance all night.”“Seriously, when did you get so cheesy?”I fill in the blanks of episode 15x12.





	‘Til The Clocks Go Forward Again

It’s late enough in the ICU that Levi hasn’t seen another doctor or nurse in almost an hour. Everything is quiet and most of the lights are dimmed, the Christmas decorations hung on the walls catching the light and sparkling prettily.

His eyes have been trained on Natasha’s room all evening, and he almost rushes over every time something looks even remotely wrong, but he has to admit that he’s getting bored now. And maybe a little freaked out by the silence.

He picks up his phone to entertain himself, but before he can unlock it, a text comes in. Levi’s heart skips a beat when he reads Nico’s name at the top of the screen, asking him where he is.

Levi springs up from the chair he’s been slumped in for the past half hour and quickly answers the text, letting Nico know he’s in the ICU. Nico texts back just as fast that he’s coming to see him, so Levi heads for the elevators to wait for Nico.

They haven’t seen each other in a few days, since Nico had gone home to celebrate Christmas with his family and Levi had been stuck doing what interns do on Christmas, so working. It’s probably pathetic, but Levi has missed him.

The sound of the elevator doors opening is almost too loud for the eerie atmosphere, but Levi doesn’t have time to dwell on it before Nico walks out, a big smile on his face.

Levi spreads his arms in front of him and bounces on the tips of his toes, smiling so hard that his cheeks hurt. Nico walks up to him and wraps his arms around Levi’s waist, hugging him tight and even briefly lifting him off the ground.

“Hello,” Levi says, turning his head to drop a kiss on Nico’s neck.

Nico chuckles and lets him down, but keeps him close so that he can quickly kiss Levi on the lips. Levi pats him on the chest and grabs Nico’s hand before he starts walking back towards the nurses’ station, because it really doesn’t feel like the appropriate time or place to make out.

“Wanna keep me company?” Levi asks.

He tugs on Nico’s hand so he doesn’t really have a choice but to follow along, but luckily he doesn’t resist it.

“How was Christmas?” Levi asks with a small smile.

-

When Natasha has been checked and there is nothing more for any of them to do, Levi and Nico walk back to the nurses’ station. It’s now the middle of the night, so it’s even quieter than it was earlier, if possible.

“That was some Christmas miracle,” Nico comments.

Levi hums and sinks back down into his chair. It is really quiet, but it doesn’t feel as creepy now that there is so much happiness coming out of Natasha’s room. He directs a dirty look towards Nico when he gently kicks Levi’s chair.

“What are you doing on New Year’s eve?” Nico asks quietly.

Levi scoffs and kicks back, then rests his feet on Nico’s lap. “I’m working, of course,” Levi answers.

Nico grabs Levi’s ankles and squeezes them, and Levi has to hold back a laugh at how much it tickles.

“Do you want to be my date at the Karevs’ party?” Nico asks easily.

Levi is taken aback by the question. He had heard some attendings talking about this party, but it had been made clear that it was reserved to dark blue scrubs. Nico doesn’t look like he’s joking, though; in fact, he looks like he’s impatiently waiting for an answer.

“Dr. Grey said I have to stay here until Natasha is better,” Levi pouts.

Nico shrugs and digs his fingers into the muscles of Levi’s calf in an impromptu massage. “Let’s hope she gets better, then. I want to start the new year with you.”

Levi rolls his eyes, but his cheeks feel suspiciously warm. He pulls back his legs and crosses them underneath himself, pretending to be reading something on his notepad.

Nico doesn’t let that discourage him. “I want to kiss you at midnight and dance all night.”

“Seriously, when did you get so cheesy?” Levi teases.

Nico grabs the outside of Levi’s knees and pulls him closer to his chair to quickly drop a kiss on his cheek.

“It’s the holiday cheer,” Nico explains, moving lower to kiss the corner of Levi’s mouth.

Levi huffs and rolls his eyes again, but he can’t pretend he’s not completely flattered. He gives up the uninterested act and turns around to fully catch Nico’s lips in a quick and chaste kiss.

-

As it turns out, Dr. Grey gives Levi the night off on New Year’s Eve. It takes him a few seconds to process it, but as soon as he does he thanks her profusely and sprints downstairs to get changed. As he runs down the stairs he calls Nico and lets him know they can go to the party.

When Levi gets to the Karevs’ house, it’s well past nine at night, and Nico is already there waiting for him. A few cars honk at him when he crosses the street, but Levi only has eyes for Nico, clad in a dark suit and looking amazing.

Levi himself is wearing a nice jacket and a tie, and he can’t help but think that they look like a pretty attractive couple. Nico gives him an appreciative once-over, then ushers both of them in.

The apartment is full of people, the music loud and the party in full swing. Everybody seems to be having a good time, Dr. Karev walking around greeting everyone while Chief Karev offers alcohol all around. They make good hosts.

The last hours before midnight go by in a blur, people dancing, and drinking, and laughing loudly. It feels like the right night to just forget about sick patients and big surgeries for a few hours.

Nico and Levi navigate the room together and speak to basically everyone, Jo even stopping them to tell a tipsy version of the time Levi dropped his glasses in her patient. Thankfully Levi manages to pull Nico away before she goes further than that.

In what feels like the blink of an eye, the countdown to midnight is almost starting. Everybody gathers around the television, champagne in hand and bellies full of good food.

“Three! Two! One!” and everybody cheers, people hugging and kissing all around.

“Happy new year,” Nico leans down to whisper in Levi’s ear, voice gruff and low.

Levi feels warmth build inside of him at Nico’s tone, but he won’t let him see how much if affects him.

“Shut up,” Levi says, but he still reaches up to pull Nico in by his neck and kiss him.

Nico chuckles against Levi’s lips, but he still grabs onto Levi’s waist and pulls him closer. They’re about to really get into it when Jo yells from somewhere in the room.

“And now let’s dance!”

Levi has every intention of just ignoring her, maybe convincing Nico to sneak outside to have a bit more privacy, but before he can say or do anything, somebody is grabbing his hand and pulling him away.

He gets thrown in the middle of what has been turned into the dance floor, and Levi is disoriented until Nico is pushed in behind him. Levi can see Jo giving both of them a thumbs up and then turning away to find someone else to force into dancing.

Levi turns back to Nico, who just shrugs and starts making quite ridiculous movements. Levi first rolls his eyes and laughs, refusing to participate, but he soon gives in and joins him.

The music gets turned up even higher and the song changes into one with a stronger beat. Everybody cheers and moves in unison, somebody bumping into Levi’s back and pushing him against Nico. Levi catches himself with his hands on Nico’s chest, but they’re both laughing.

They hold onto each other and move together, bouncing on their feet and twirling as much as they can, drunk on the love and excitement floating around in the room. And maybe a bit on champagne.

Jo joins them soon after that, bringing Chief Karev along with her. Everybody is tipsy enough that they don’t care about being chief, or fellow, or intern. They’re just having a good time dancing and drinking together.

“Have I told you how good you look in that?” Nico whispers in Levi’s ear at one point.

“You have, but I’m open to hearing more about it,” Levi answers.

Nico doesn’t laugh or roll his eyes. In fact, his eyes are dark and focused on Levi’s face. He slides his hands underneath Levi’s jacket to sneak his fingers into the top of his pants, a smirk appearing on his face when Levi makes a sound of surprise.

He gets it immediately, though. Levi pushes back against Nico’s touch and looks up at him, eyes half-lidded and biting his lower lip. Nico follows the movement with his eyes.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asks.

Levi reads his lips more than he hears what he says, but he gets the message anyway. He nods and turns around to find somewhere to put down his drink, then lets Nico grab his hand and lead him towards where they left their coats. He quickly waves goodbye to the people he knows, and then he’s outside.

There is a cold and biting wind that immediately works its way underneath Levi’s clothes, so he steps closer to Nico and nudges his arm until he wraps it around Levi’s shoulders.

“That was fun,” Nico comments, his breath visible in front of his face. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party.”

“It doesn’t have to end,” Levi bumps their hips together. “We can have our own party.”

Nico looks down at Levi with a raised eyebrow. “I can’t think of a better way to start the new year.”

They decide to walk to Nico’s house, since it is close enough anyway. They stand close together and don’t rush, even though it is way too cold, and Levi can’t wait to go inside and get his hands on Nico.

Levi pats on Nico’s back while he waits for him to unlock the door, bouncing up and down impatiently. As soon as the door opens, he runs inside, stripping down like his life depends on it. Maybe he’s drunker than he realised.

Nico looks at him with a smile, pulling off his own clothes at a much slower pace.

“C’mon, old man!” Levi calls out, sprinting towards the bedroom.

He can hear Nico laughing and then heavy footsteps coming closer. Levi hasn’t made it to the bed yet when Nico wraps his arms around his waist and lifts him off the ground, spinning them around. Levi squeals and holds on to Nico’s arms before being thrown on the bed.

“You have to stop manhandling me,” Levi lightly kicks out at Nico standing at the foot of the bed.

“You love it,” Nico rolls his eyes.

Levi doesn’t comment on that. He stretches out his arms and waits for Nico to crawl between them, tilting his chin up to silently ask for a kiss. Nico leans down and complies, gently joining their lips.

Breathing gets harder when they’re pressed this close together, and with his eyes closed Levi feels like the world is spinning around him, the full effects of the alcohol finally kicking in. He tries to push through it and starts fumbling with the button of Nico’s pants.

Nico reaches down to help him, but their fingers get tangled together, and they just end up laughing against each other’s lips. They soon give up, Nico climbing off Levi and flopping next to him on the bed.

“Maybe we can have a nap first,” Nico suggests.

Neither of them have their eyes open, and they’re both still wearing their suits. Levi manages to kick off his shoes, but that’s about as far as he can go.

“Yeah, we can try again later,” Levi pats the closest part of Nico’s body he can reach, which is his arm.

“Yeah, later,” Nico confirms.

“Yeah,” Levi sighs.

They’re both asleep in a matter of seconds, limbs overlapping and drooling on their pillows. They don’t wake up until lunchtime the next day, and even then it’s only because Nico’s stomach grumbling gets too loud to ignore, but it’s okay. Levi wouldn’t have it any other way.

-

It's Valentine’s Day, but it’s hard to feel like celebrating. There has been a bittersweet weight sitting heavy on Levi’s stomach since Natasha and Garrett’s wedding, and all he wants to do now is find a corner to feel sorry for himself.

He had left the room as fast as possible, not wanting to ruin the peaceful atmosphere with what he was sure would be some serious ugly crying, and he’s now walking through the hallways with no real purpose.

The hand Nico had put on his shoulder had been steadying in the moment, and Levi realises that he really doesn’t want to be alone right now. He takes his phone out of his pocket and goes to dial Nico’s number, but finds a text message from him already waiting to be read.

 _Come outside_ , it reads, no other explanation as to where. Levi stares at it for a few seconds, then shrugs and takes his chances, stepping out of the hospital and looking around.

He finds Nico easily, both because he’s sure he would be able to pick out that jawline in the middle of a crowd, and because Nico is sitting on a bench, hands behind his head and chin tilted towards the sky.

The sun is shining, warming the air and making the colours feel brighter. Levi already feels better.

“Hi,” he says quietly when he sits down on the bench.

Nico squints one eye open and smiles at Levi, moving to make more space for him. Neither of them says anything, but they don’t need to.

Levi had half a plan to maybe go buy some chocolates as a gift to Nico, but it feels ridiculous now. He always used to think that Valentine’s Day was a useless holiday, never getting what its appeal was.

He doesn’t think differently now, but he guesses that there is something about the idea of showering Nico with gifts and love. Of course, he could also do that any other day of the year, but it would have been fun to participate in the holiday for once.

Maybe next year. Today he wouldn’t feel right doing anything extravagant. And anything he could come up with would pale in comparison to what he just witnessed in Natasha’s room.

“Stop thinking and enjoy the sun,” Nico mumbles, nudging Levi’s shoulder.

Levi smiles to himself; of course Nico can tell exactly what is going on in his mind.

“Dr. Grey was right,” Levi sighs, closing his eyes as well. “The ICU really makes you lose it after a while.”

Nico hums, and they’re quiet after that. Levi feels like the sun shining on his cheeks is dissolving the weight on his stomach, making it a little easier to breathe without wanting to cry.

“Never do that to me,” Levi says after a while.

“Do what?”

Levi blindly grabs Nico’s hand and squeezes his fingers.

“Any of that,” Levi answers. “Just don’t die on me like that.”

Nico chuckles, but it doesn’t sound genuine. He squeezes Levi’s fingers as well and tugs on Levi’s arm until he leans his head on Nico’s shoulder. He turns to the side and gently kisses Levi’s temple.

“I’ll try,” Nico concedes.

“Good,” Levi pats Nico’s hand with his free one and sighs again, going back to enjoying the sun.

It’s not the first Valentine’s Day that Levi would have dreamed of, but it’s perfect in its own way. Levi is sure that they’ll have plenty of time in the future to make up for it. For now, the sun is warm and they’re together, and there’s nothing more Levi could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> I probably could have made this sexy and fun, but it really didn't feel right with the way the episode ended. I'll probably post some proper Valentine's Day fluff on the 14th itself! Also, I didn't really expand the Christmas part because I'm over it lol, but if you're craving Christmas fics you can check out my [12 days of schmico](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1215870)!
> 
> Also "I'm gay, he's gay, we're gay together" is my new favourite quote from Levi.
> 
> The title is from "Clocks Go Forward" by James Bay.
> 
> If you liked this, let me know with a comment or hit me up on [Tumblr](https://shesbreathless.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
